Keeping his pledge to make no front-office changes until after the season was complete, Jaguars owner Shad Khan fired general manager Gene Smith Monday morning, approximately 16 hours after the team finished the worst year in franchise history.

Smith’s dismissal came during a meeting at an undisclosed Jacksonville location and ended his 19-year association with the Jaguars, the last four as the front office chief.

But no playoff appearances and a 22-42 record was enough for Khan to absorb the final two years of Smith’s contract, put coach Mike Mularkey’s future in doubt and change the direction of the franchise.

“Now it is time for the Jacksonville Jaguars to begin a new chapter,” Khan said in a statement. “We’re not looking back. I’ve made it clear from Day One that we pledge nothing less than to deliver the first Super Bowl championship to Jacksonville. … We simply must do better for our fans.”

Smith was one of four general managers fired on “Black Monday,” but Mularkey was not among the seven coaches who got the ax. Mularkey’s fate will likely be decided by the new general manager.

“I’m moving forward as the head coach until I’m told otherwise,” he said. “I wasn’t told I wasn’t going to be [the 2013 coach]. If that’s an assurance, then I’ll take it as one.”

Khan did not make himself available to the media after the Smith firing was announced, choosing to release only a statement.

Smith did not return a phone message seeking comment but after the Jaguars’ loss at Tennessee on Sunday, said: “Certainly we haven’t fulfilled expectations. … You try to give your very best and you hope your best is good enough.”

The Jaguars immediately began the search for his replacement. Per an ESPN report, they and the New York Jets requested permission to interview San Francisco director of player personnel Tom Gamble, a 25-year NFL veteran.

COACH, PLAYERS IN LIMBO

Khan has left Mularkey and his staff twisting in the wind. All are under contract for 2013, but if the new general manager waits 2-3 weeks to fire them, it will be more difficult to find a new job.

Mularkey wasn’t talking about that, though. He conducted his season-ending news conference Monday morning after a series of meetings with Khan and the Jaguars’ assistant coaches and before he spoke to the team and held individual player conferences.

The Jaguars and Kansas City became the 37th and 38th teams to finish with less than three wins since the NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. Including the Chiefs’ Romeo Crennel (fired Monday), only nine of those coaches survived such a brutal year.

Mularkey tried to create a new organizational flow chart, one that won’t work since the new general manager will decide if he stays or goes.

“I report to Shad, just as Gene reported to Shad, just as [team president] Mark Lamping reports to Shad,” Mularkey said. “We’ll work closely, side by side with each other, myself and whoever the next general manager is.

“I know I answer to Shad and have since Day One and I will continue to do that. I stayed in touch with Shad weekly to give him updates and that will not stop. The communication is really good there.”

A league source said Mularkey could be retained for at least one more year, but, “more than likely, the GM will say, ‘I want to try and win with my guy.’ It’s too bad for Mike because he was dealt a bad hand.”

The coach that Smith hired could be jettisoned and so could many of the players he acquired – all but nine on the final roster arrived under his watch.

“Being with Gene the last four, five years, it’s tough to see that happen,” running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. “But when you don’t produce, changes need to be made, so it what it is.”

Said left tackle Eugene Monroe: “It’s unfortunate because I have a lot of respect and appreciation for him bringing me here. … Each year, we felt that we had a chance to perform and get some wins.”

But each year with Smith as the general manager, the record didn’t meet the in-house expectations. The Jaguars were 7-9, 8-8, 5-11 and 2-14 in the four years. This season, they were outscored by a franchise record 189 points.

Jones-Drew and Monroe are entering the final year of their contracts in 2013 and Smith’s exit could mean several current free agents may have to move on if the new general manager hires a coach who wants scheme changes.

QUICK MOVE EXPECTED

Khan’s next move will define the first half-decade of his ownership. Unlike San Diego with Ron Wolf and earlier this year, Carolina with Ernie Accorsi, Khan has not publicly announced if he is working with a consultant.

Because Smith’s firing happened rapidly, league sources expect the search for his replacement to also be fast.

“He’s had all this time to figure it out, right?” a league source said. “Definitely before the Senior Bowl.”

Senior Bowl practices begin Jan. 21 in Mobile, Ala.

But what direction will Khan go?

“Just from the way I’ve seen him operate, I have a feeling that Khan is going to go after somebody with a name,” a league source said. “He wants to make a splash and we’ve seen that money is not much of a roadblock for him. … If it’s not somebody who has experience and a name, it’s going to be somebody that comes from a tree like [Bill] Belichick that will excite people.”

Among the rumored candidates include the 49ers’ Gamble, Arizona’s Jason Licht, who previously worked for the Patriots, and current New England top-ranking front office executive Nick Caserio.

Baltimore assistant general manager Eric DeCosta announced Monday he was staying with the Ravens.

In his statement on Monday, Khan said: “Our organization’s business unit had an extremely impressive year and I anticipate even better days ahead in 2013 and beyond, but we all understand this is a football business above all else. With that, I’m determined to find the right man to lead our football operations, someone who shares my vision, understands the commitment we will demand and is qualified and ready to seize this opportunity.”

Not ready to see the Coach fired, the main problem for years with The Jags has been Gene Smith Jags have had many years of poor production and the Coach was not the Common Factor is has been The GM, now that he is gone lets see if the Coach can do better, starting with the Draft, and lets fill the Stadium and give Tebow a try and lets draft around him the QB Jags has have was very ineffective

Not ready to see the Coach fired, the main problem for years with The Jags has been Gene Smith Jags have had many years of poor production and the Coach was not the Common Factor is has been The GM, now that he is gone lets see if the Coach can do better, starting with the Draft, and lets fill the Stadium and give Tebow a try and lets draft around him the QB Jags has have was very ineffective

The Jags have looked horrible after halftime in most of the games this year. 2-14 is not all Gene Smiths fault. Well most of it because he did help hire Mularkey. There is no reason to keep this head coach with all the changes that need to be made. All you would be doing with keeping Mularkey is waiting another year before you fire him. Get it done now and move on.

It is now apparent that for all the hype with Shad, he didn't go "all in" when he bought the team.

To start, He should have cleaned house immediately last year. Leaving personnel and coaches from the Jack Del Rio regime was a bad move. Obviously not letting Mullarkey build an entire staff has put the organization in a weird situation where he could be replaced after a year.

I think Shad gives Mullarkey one more year to start showing some progress, as while we were 2-14, we could have easily had another 4-5 wins if things fell the right way.

I also think that as an organization, player conditioning needs to be reviewed. While injuries are a part of the game, we seem to keep an above average flow of players on IR.

And posters.....Learn how to spell before you comment on what the Jaguars should be doing. If you're going to fire the broadcasters, at least get their names right.

As for the on the field product.......nevermind. I already have a headache from too much partying last night.

How do you know he was looking over his shoulder? I would think if that was the case, he would not have said that Gabbert would not be the starter next year. You dont keep a coach who has gone 2 - 14! Start having some standards Jags fans. No other fan base would stand for this!